I honestly still don’t understand the appeal of JJ Abrams for media consumers. I understand why studios like him because he finishes on time and on budget and produces consistent products.
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You really think they need amplification to be the center of attention. They pretty much show up and tear down literally everything that isn’t all about people that look like them every single time, making extra care to harass any POC (especially if they are women) involved. Disney didn’t need to do shit to encourage them, because the existence of people who aren’t them just enrages them into action. Even if it had been the best movie ever, they STILL would have harassed Kelly Marie Tran and John Boyega, because apparently, space is only for white people…
So, maybe stop acting like Disney purposefully riled them up for the clicks… they really did not. There is plenty of criticism to be leveled at the company, but this is not one of them.
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“So, maybe stop acting like Disney purposefully riled them up for the clicks… they really did not.” Weil, I didn’t say that. I said amplified, they were dicks probably before Disney acquired Lucas. What I meant, is that Disney has acted as if any negative feedback was to be dismissed as racist. And I’ve seen it argued in this very forum that any criticism of TLJ was
“specious arguments to suppor (sic) their position.” I think the plot was bad (as I said), it did Luke’s character dirty, the tension was strained, they telegraphed the punch with Lara Dern’s character arc, and they underutilized John Boyega and his character. I could go on, because I still (45 years later), care deeply about the story. I’m not in any of the “fan” spaces, so I only have references to those interactions. Basically, there are real, non-racist reasons not to like TLJ, and I blame Rian Johnson for all of it.
I think that they pointed out where it was, indeed, racist. It’s hard to say that the treatment received by two actors on the film was solely about their performance and was not racist. It was.
Liking a film or not is an opinion, and as you can see from the comments here, it’s very much split.
Which, again, is your OPINION, and not a fact. Others liked the film. And that does not mean that there wasn’t racism at the heart of an awful lot of the reaction to the film.
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Personally I was glad that they showed Luke in grumpy-old-hermit mode. He was absolutely right when he said:
Based on what had already been shown in The Force Awakens Luke had attempted to build a new Jedi training facility and, once again, only made things worse by helping to train and create Kylo Ren.
So I don’t know what you would have liked to see from Luke in The Last Jedi but a bitter, disillusioned old man who wanted nothing to do with the Jedi anymore seemed perfectly appropriate to me, and I enjoyed it.
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He WAS kind of delightful, honestly!
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I challenge anyone to find a greater example of Mark Hamill just going all in on his character:
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He was pretty spot-on for Merv Pumpkinhead recently!
He literally sounded EXACTLY like I thought he would!
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Never said there wasn’t. I said there are non-racist reasons not to like TLJ, that is a fact, not an opinion. My (and some others) opinions of the film (non-racist criticisms) prove that, you may disagree with the opinions, but that doesn’t change the fact that there are non-racist criticisms of TLJ.
Doesn’t also change the incredibly racist and misogynistic reaction to the film… which was a thing, that happened and matters. I’m finding it pretty frustrating that that keeps being brushed aside, as if it doesn’t have real world consequences for an awful lot of people. It’s my job to study pop culture, and the fact that so many people are so quick to dismiss this kind of thing, or brush it aside is incredibly disheartening. It matters, because it’s a gauge of other aspects of our society. The racism/misogyny was intimately connected to what’s happening politically in America right now, and that’s why it’s important to not shout it down every time someone brings it up.
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Well, that’s just, like, your professional opinion, ma’am…
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I think we’re communicating past each other. I agree with everything you said here. And I still don’t want Rian Johnson anywhere near Star Wars.
How soon they forget (to forget)
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